Masculinity in Taylor Swift’s Music | Better Man, The Man, Father Figure | AP Taylor Swift E144

I’ll be your father figure. In this Show and Tell episode, Jenn, Jodi, and Maansi unpack masculinity as a cultural construct, from powdered wigs and heels in 18th century France to Travis Kelce happily playing the less famous partner on New Heights.

Jenn kicks things off with Better Man, flipping every one of the ex's flaws to sketch the man Taylor actually wants (grateful, consistent, kind, and secure enough not to talk down to anyone). Jodi brings The Man and gets real about the double standards that turn a woman's "edge" into a man's ambition, plus why leaning in never quite worked. Maansi closes with Father Figure, tracing every Jaguar, chateau, and glass of brown liquor back to the patriarch. (And yes, she researched the history of dick measuring contests. For science.)

Along the way, the hosts map R.W. Connell's hegemonic masculinity, Aragorn versus Commodus, the Byronic hero, Hemingway's code hero, and the colonial baggage packed into a single word like "conquest." Pour yourself a whiskey (or don't, it tastes like fire) and press play.

Episode Highlights

00:59  Intro to the topic

11:36  Jenn's pick, Better Man, plus its Little Big Town backstory

22:35  Jodi's pick, The Man, and the rebranding of female ambition

37:48  Maansi's pick, Father Figure, and the patriarch in the title

Mentioned in This Episode

Books

The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir

Masculinities by R.W. Connell